Vandals Get Ronald Mcdonald Statue -- To Go

January 14, 1986|By Wesley Loy of The Sentinel Staff

LEESBURG — A statue of Ronald McDonald was found knee-deep in a lake at Lake Sumter Community College early Monday after vandals took the 6-foot character from its stand at the nearby McDonald's restaurant.

Cheryl Powell, manager of the restaurant east of the college on U.S. Highway 441, said the statue was stolen between 11 p.m. Sunday and 5:45 a.m. Monday.

The theft is the second such caper at a Lake County fast-food restaurant in less than two months. On Nov. 19, a 20-foot inflatable chicken bucket was stolen from the parking lot of Kentucky Fried Chicken, which is across the street from McDonald's.

Made of fiberglass and worth about $2,000, the statue was discovered missing by a maintenance worker, Susan Carroll, 26, about 5:45 a.m. Monday.

''About 30 minutes later, someone from the college called and said they spotted him in the middle of their lake,'' Powell said.

Deputies found the statue wearing a lei around its neck, about 10 feet from shore. The deputies retrieved the statue and returned it to McDonald's.

The thieves apparently snatched the statue from restaurant's Playland area by loosening three bolts that held it in place, Powell said.

Carroll was inside the restaurant all night but said she heard nothing amiss outside, Powell said.

Ronald was ''just a little wet,'' said Powell, 25. ''He's back safe and sound now.''